Aims of Think Bike
If you travel on South African roads, you will no doubt have seen the almost ubiquitous “Think Bike” stickers on cars, trucks and bikes alike. Bumper stickers, banners, stickers on bikes, branded t-shirts, and reflective vests all serve to help make the Think Bike logo well-known. The idea is that every time anyone sees the Think Bike logo, they will think about bikes for a few second, thus creating the awareness we all deserve.
But apart from a momentary reminder to look out for bikes, what is Think Bike really about?
The answer is that it is much more than stickers – they are merely the most visible manifestations of South Africa’s biggest and most successful motorcycle safety campaign.
Think Bike is a mindset!
With the aid of its members and supporters, including some of South Africa’s leading corporates, Think Bike would like to become the country’s most recognised brand for all things related to motorcycle awareness.
Think Bike also uses other channels to create awareness, such as radio, TV interviews, newspaper and magazine articles. Hosting stalls run by volunteers at community events such as the AMID bike show in Gauteng, Classic Car and Bike Show in Cape Town and assisting at the annual Toy Runs held around South Africa all enable Think Bike to spread the word. Marshalling cycling and other road and off-road athletic events, including high profile rides such as the 94.7 Cycle Challenge and The Cape Cape Roleur tour also allow the campaign to provide a safe passage to the entrants.
What Think Bike isn’t is a law enforcement agency and supports the agencies tasked to address legal issues. While Think Bike doesn’t condone the breaking of the law by 2 wheel road users (from speeding to the removal of number plates to drinking and driving) we cannot be prescriptive. What Think Bike believes is that through education, the choices made by the individual biker will be more focused on their own safety and Think Bike would prefer to be seen as offering social platforms where bikers can find sound advice, on which to base their educated choices regarding their conduct while riding.
Think Bike is a registered not for profit company managed by a Board of Directors, elected by campaign members annually. The brand “Think Bike” is a registered trademark, and the Board of Directors are custodians of this brand.
Origins of Think Bike
Around the middle of 2005, a number of bikers were using an online forum to discuss the alarming number of unnecessary motorcycle accidents; avoidable accidents caused by inattentiveness, ignorance, incompetence and failure to exercise due care. The Think Bike sticker campaign that had been started by Tony Day of Cape Town in the ’80s came up in a discussion, and it was decided there and then to revive the campaign and expand on its goals and methods.
Thanks mainly to the dedication, hard work and leadership of the now late chairman, Brian Cannoo, the Think Bike Campaign now offer a membership option, a community forum with thousands of contributors, a busy Facebook page and group, 2 Twitter accounts, sponsors from a number of business sectors and has to date distributed over 180 000 leaflets, over 160 000 bumper stickers, and reached literally thousands of road users with its message.